1 Field
The invention is in the field of tools for cleaning areas of debris or snow and transporting such debris or snow to other areas, or for moving material from one area to another.
2. State of the Art
Shovels are the most common tool used for removing snow, dirt, gravel, or other materials from a surface and moving such materials to another area. The shovel is generally pushed under the material and is then lifted and carried so that the material remains on the shovel until the desired location is reached, or the shovel is lifted and the material thrown from the shovel to the desired area. Shovels usually have a relatively small material carrying platform but are usually heavy to lift when such platform has material thereon. Thus, moving material or cleaning material from a surface is time consuming, is hard work, and is hard on a person's back.
Some snow shovels have carrying platforms larger than normal shovels, but can only be fully loaded with relatively light snow. Some of these snow shovels are used to push snow in front of the shovel to a desired location. However, such pushing is very difficult once the snow builds up.
All shovels have a substantially rigid material carrying platform so the platform will not bend under the weight of the material being carried thereon. Even when the material carrying platform is made of relatively light materials, such as plastic, the material is formed or configured in such manner to make it rigid under normally expected loads. Where plow type tools are used to merely push materials from a surface, the plow blades are also rigid so they do not bend under load.
The need remains for a tool which is easily maneuverable and effective in clearing snow or debris such as dirt or gravel from a surface and which allows a user to more quickly and easily move relatively large amounts of material from one location to another.